Support Us Button Widget

Look inside the historic lager tunnels at Gravely Brewing Co.

Batman wished his cave was here.

The opening of two gray stone caverns in a grass covered hill.

The two tunnels open up to the first floor of the two-story deck patio overlooking LOU.

Photo by LOUtoday

Gravely Brewing Co. opened six years ago on the partial site of the historic Phoenix Brewing Co. — which in its heyday (1884-1916) was a nationally-known brewery and beer garden with an indoor velodrome.

While the former brewery is long gone, remnants of its history still lurk at this 21st century music-themed craft brewery on Baxter Avenue. Step onto the patio and you’ll peer into the mouths of two stone tunnels set into the hillside.

Opening of a stone tunnel in a grass hillside at Gravely Brewing.

The caverns are a reminder that Louisville was a major beer hub prior to bourbon.

Photo by LOUtoday

Now hollow and grass-covered, the caverns were once used to ferment lager beers by Phoenix Brewing Co. prior to refrigeration — since lager-style beers require low temps to brew + condition.

Gravely doesn’t use the tunnels to make its beers, but they still produce a variety of lagers. Try the La Bamba Mexican lager next time you visit. It’s “Corona’s cooler craft cousin.”

    More from LOUtoday
    Prepare for winter weather in Derby City with these seasonal temperature and precipitation outlooks.
    With “A Complete Unknown” hitting theaters, we thought we’d round up Dylan’s connections to Derby City.
    Kentucky College of Art & Design was awarded institutional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
    From fiction to memoirs and everything in between.
    These city gifts are way better than a Jelly of the Month Club membership.
    We’ve had our fair share of the white stuff over the years.
    The Columbia Building was an iconic Louisville feature for ~75 years.
    The restaurant comes from the acclaimed restaurateurs behind a Michelin star spot in Chicago.
    A new initiative aims to renovate downtown Louisville buildings into residential, hospitality, and mixed-uses spaces.
    A park is breaking out of the site of a decommissioned city jail.